Just look at THIS! Almost eight tons
of German high-alloy steel! A threat to any enemy! The most powerful gun
in World of Tanks! Thousands dream of it! Millions tremble before it! But sometimes
even this gun canât compensate for the âoutstandingâ skills
of a player. To avoid this happening too often, today weâll talk
about armor penetration. Explaining Mechanics
Armor Penetration Any gun has
a standard set of characteristics: damage, accuracy,
aiming time, and rate of fire. But all this is useless if youâre unable
to penetrate the armor. To fire effectively,
you should learn how penetration mechanics work,
understand their principles. Letâs start with some theory
from our confidential informant. Every shell in the game
has its penetration capability. The documentation
specifies its average value when firing from 100 meters. The actual penetration
can be 25 percent higher or lower. The damage caused
is calculated in a similar manner. Thanks, CI! Let's go further
and have a small experiment. Weâll take two T57 Heavy
and two AMX tanks. This choice is not accidental: both vehicles feature 120-mm guns,
equal average damage, and almost the same penetration with Armor-Piercing
and High-Explosive shells. The key difference
is the type of Premium shells they have. The AMX features
Armor-Piercing Composite Rigid shells, and the T57 Heavy can fire
High-Explosive Anti-Tank shells. The targets are placed
not far from our vehicles. I donât think any of the tanks
will have problems penetrating their armor,
but let's see. The first tank
fires an AP shell; the second shoots
an APCR shell; the third vehicle
goes for a HEAT shell; and the fourth
firesan HE shell. None of them had a problem. Letâs make the task
more complicated: weâll put the targets behind cover
and repeat the experiment. As you can see,
the result is a bit different... The HE shell
dealt only splash damage, and the HEAT shell
got stuck in the fence. But this isnât over yet. Now weâre going
to remove the obstacles and take the target
a bit farther away. The guns fire, and... The result is different again. Few people realize that different shell types
would be best for firing at the same target
in different situations. To do this correctly,
you need some theory. As you know,
there are four shell types, each with its unique properties. The main shell type
used by most tanks is the Armor-Piercing shell. These shells fly quickly, but their penetration capability
slightly reduces with distance. Their penetration capability
also reduces when they hit a destructible object,
like a fence or a vehicle. The fastest shells
are APCR ones. Only weekends pass by faster. APCR shells
can go through fences too, but with distance they lose their penetration capacity
more than AP shells. The HEAT shell is a different story. Its penetration capability
doesnât depend on the range and remains the same
along the entire trajectory. But this comes at a price:
this shell is the slowest one. And if it hits a fence,
it wonât go any farther. HE shells fly
almost as fast as AP ones, and they donât lose
their penetration power with distance. After hitting any object,
an HE shell detonates, and its fragments
can damage a vehicle nearby. In addition, these shells have
the highest potential damage and the lowest penetration capability. And now let me give you
some pieces of advice. If you want to cause damage
through fences, fire AP shells
or APCR shells. To fire at a slow
and well-armored vehicle located far away,
youâll hardly find anything better
than the HEAT shell. If you take a shot at scouts
from a long distance, the ideal choice
is the APCR shell. And if your enemies
are paper-thin, send them
some High-Explosive âparcels.â And some more tips. Any destructible building
consists of sections. If you want to destroy
the building quickly, fire an HE shell at the joint
between these sections. You can also use an HE shell
to knock down a tree. Or knock off the base capture without exposing yourself
to enemy fire. With a large-caliber HE shell you can even
shoot down an airplane! âŚThat last one is a joke,
of course, but the rest work! âŚSo, we already know
how shells fly. But what about all these hits, ricochets, penetrations,
and non-penetrations? Thatâs simple! We have two parameters: shell penetration capacity
and armor thickness. Both are measured in millimeters. If the first number
is higher than the second one, the enemy receives damage. Arithmetic, first grade! However, this is true when the shell
hits the armor at a right angle. In other cases, the penetration power
is calculated differently⌠Letâs take a point on the armor and draw a tangent
and a normal through it. Speaking simply,
a perpendicular line. The shellâs angle of entry is an angle between the normal
and the projectileâs trajectory. In this case, the shell has to penetrate
a much thicker layer of armor. The relative armor
is calculated as the ratio
of the nominal armor thickness to the cosines of the entry angle. The smaller this angle is, the higher the chance
of penetrating the armor. Geometry, seventh grade! Thatâs why
you shouldnât always fire rapidly. Sometimes, itâs better
to wait a few seconds and fire with certainty. Each vehicle has its weak spots. Normally, these are the cupola, driverâs hatch,
and lower glacis plate. However, if there isnât
any chance to choose, the theory will help you again. To ensure
higher shell effectiveness, the design of shells
allowed them to shift, adjusting to the normal vector. This resulted
in thinner relative armor. This effect
is called âshell normalization.â The normalization angle
for AP shells is five degrees. The normalization angle
for APCR shells is two degrees. HEAT shells are not subject
to normalization at all, neither are HE shells. Thatâs how it looks in practice! The armor plate thickness
is 38 millimeters. The shellâs entry angle
is 60 degrees. In this case, the thickness
of the relative armor is 76 millimeters,
which is one millimeter thicker than the maximum allowed
penetration capability of the shell. However, we know that AP shells
normalize by 5 degrees. Due to this, the relative
armor thickness decreases, which gives us an opportunity
to penetrate the vehicleâs armor. Not each time, but still. But thereâs more than that! Using a higher caliber will allow... And now we will talk
about one of the main axioms of armor penetration mechanics:
the Two Calibers Rule. This rule says: If the shell caliber is more than twice
the nominal armor thickness, the shellâs shift angle
to the normal vector increases according
to the formula: So! If you use a higher caliber, the normalization factor
will greatly increase! The target, the angle, and the armor penetration
performance is the same. But the shell has to pierce
50 millimeters of armor instead of 66 millimeters. Now, each shot results in damage! But thatâs too simple! Letâs increase the angle. Itâs still able to penetrate, but wait, what do we have here?! Ricochet! By the way,
talking of ricochets! AP shells
and APCR shells ricochet at an angle
of 70 degrees or more, losing 25%
of their penetration capability. HEAT shells ricochet
at an angle of more than 85 degrees with no loss
to their penetration capability. HE shells
donât ricochet at all. And now itâs high time
for another important axiom in World of Tanks:
the Three Calibers Rule. It only applies
to AP shells and APCR shells
and says the following: If the shell caliber is more than thrice
the nominal armor thickness, there will be no ricochet. Whatever the thickness
of the relative armor, the shell will attempt
to penetrate it at any angle. Woah-woah-woah! Easy! In summary, if the angle
is more than 70 degrees, thereâs no point in using AP shells
or APCR shells. Unless youâre trying to aim at an enemy vehicle
hiding behind a building! Or youâre firing
from a really big gun! If you use HEAT shells,
you can fire at even greater angles. However, note
that this type of shell doesnât normalize
and it will have to pierce the whole thickness
of the relative armor. So, donât be too surprised
if you hear âWe didnât penetrate their armor.â But weâre not finished! We havenât mentioned the screens! When an Armor-Piercing
or Armor-Piercing Composite Rigid shell hits spaced armor,
the following happens: The entry angle and the shellâs precise
penetration capacity are calculated. At the same time, the ricochet and the Three Calibers Rule
are being verified. If neither of the two
is triggered, normalization and relative armor thickness are calculated. Then, if the shell
has enough piercing power, it penetrates the screen. But its penetration capability is reduced by the value
of relative armor thickness. Then, if the projectile
hits the main armor, the abovementioned calculations
are made again. And itâs only after this that damage is or isnât inflicted
on the enemy vehicle. When a HEAT shell
hits the screen, the situation
is somewhat different. The Three Calibers Rule
doesnât apply here, the ricochet angle is different,
and the shell doesnât normalize. Hence, the cumulative jet
attempts to pierce the screen at the same angle
as the shellâs trajectory. If the armor has been penetrated, this jet will lose 5 percent
of its armor-piercing power for every 10 centimeters
of travelled distance. Thatâs why HEAT shells
rarely deliver damage when hitting
spaced armor or tracks. The effect on the armor
made by High-Explosive shells is quite a long story,
which weâll tell you next time! And now, a few words
about one painful issue: âCritical hit.â This doesnât happen very often, but every time it does,
players get frustrated. This message
should be familiar to every tanker. Itâs played when a shell
penetrates the screen but doesnât hit
the tankâs main armor. And if a shell
penetrates the screen, then hits the main armor,
but fails to penetrate it, the player hears
âWe didnât penetrate their armor.â You can also hear this message
when firing at any external module. Each gun, track,
and piece of optical equipment has its own armor thickness. When a shell hits these elements, it doesnât rebound
and has to pierce through their armor. After this, if the projectile
doesnât hit the main armor, the player hears âCritical hit.â And if it actually
hits the main armor without penetrating it,
the firer hears âWe didnât penetrate their armor.â Of course,
there are other situations when you may hear these messages, but we've discussed
the most frequent. Thatâs all for today. Remember:
You can research a top vehicle, mount the most expensive
equipment and consumables, or even fire Premium shells. But if you donât learn how to effectively
penetrate enemy vehicles, the only thing left is to rely
on your skillful comrades! If you want to know more about what happens to a shell
after it penetrates the armor, click the Like button
and leave your comments! Weâll make a video! Use these mechanics
and win some battles!
That one bounced!
I didn't realize the 2 caliber rule was a thing!
I'm guessing the reticle doesn't account for angle... only armor thickness and pen chance based on ammo?
Helpful, only wish I'd seen it a few thousand deaths ago.
Forgive me for not being able to succinctly ask this.
What I always wanted to know... Does game factor in the shape of shells? These videos always make it seem like the oblong ammo always comes in at the same angle from where you fire. It doesnât mention arcs of the shell, or if the very tip of the point of the shell matters.
For example - I have a tank with 125mm of penetration at all times against an enemy evil perfect box like vehicle of 100mm armor thickness everywhere on him.
I shoot at a 500m at said evil armored box on a perfect flat surface. This time with a gun with an incredible arc for long distance shots. I hit exactly in the center, but the arc looks like it would if you threw a ball at 45 degrees.
Does the game calculate I hit at the angle the shell is coming in? Technically my shell just hit that evil square at a bad angle.
Next question, but the vehicle is now an evil triangle with 100mm of armor. I fire once again at the evil pyramid. If my round went perfectly straight - I wouldnât penetrate due to his effective armor being greater.
However my round arcs up, and then down - and basically hits at a much flatter angle.
Would I penetrate in this instance, and does the path of the arc matter when dealing with effective armor?
I hope I made the question correctly. I care because RNG can give some tanks wild shots. Like sitting in a tank French TD, level height, and then fire - just to see the arc of the tracer go from my tank into the ground within 10 meters.
Also Iâve had some VERY strange bounces in LTs from being the enemy.
Edit - I know it matters to Arty. I have seen no testing with other vehicles. I always wanted to test with tanks that have mortar like guns.
I also wish we could turn off the auto rang we have. That way we can Arc shells ourselves!
Glad this is out
So there is a slight error at about 6:30... The narrator and equation explain striking armor at an angle, but the image is of a round hitting a corner, which is different (because the bend in the armor makes it effectively thicker than just hitting an angled shot). Great vid tho.
I just want my gun to be as accurate as the one on the ms-1 at the end of video.